Monday, August 29, 2011

A pitbull is in quarantine and police are seeking its owner after the animal fatally mauled a smaller dog Sunday night.

A man who tried to intervene also had to be treated for dog bites from the pitbull on three of his fingers.

“A woman was walking her 12-year-old poodle in the area,” said Const. Tony Vella. “A pitbull came out of nowhere and tore the dog apart, killing it. Now, the question is who the dog belongs to.”

Harrison Jordan, 18, said he was walking to a party on Ridley Blvd. around 9:30 p.m. and saw the two dogs interacting in the parking lot of the Armoury Heights Community Centre, in the Avenue Rd. and Wilson Ave. area

He thought they were play-fighting. Then, he heard screaming.

“This other dog was not on a leash and there was no muzzle,” he said. “The screams just became unbearable. This pitbull just had the dog’s neck in his mouth the entire time. It didn’t seem domesticated... it kept going and going.”

Jordan said he saw one person at the scene attempt to whip the dog with a belt to get it to stop the savageness.

“I know (the dog) was eventually put in the back of the police cruiser,” he said. “This all happened in the span of five minutes.”

A trail of dried blood stretching several metres remained in the parking lot of the community centre, which also houses a library, on Avenue Rd.

Toronto Animal Services will hold the animal in quarantine for 10 days when staff will determine whether it meets the legal definition of a pitbull which is banned in Ontario.

“Once the quarantine period is over, there are a couple things that may happen to the dog,” said Animal Services manager Elizabeth Glibbery. “If it is deemed to be a pitbull, and if it fits the criteria that it’s not permitted in Ontario, the dog will be destroyed.”

The dog is described as a two-year-old tan and white female “pitbull pedigree,” according to police and Animal Services. Read more www.torontosun.com.